The conservation agriculture roadmap for India: policy brief

Abstract

Agriculture remains central to the Indian economy, providing livelihood to the majority of its population. Though Indian agriculture have made spectacular progress for food self-sufficiency, yet growing challenges of large management yield gaps, low water and nutrient efficiency, imbalance and inadequate use of external production inputs, diminishing farm profits, deterioration of soil health and environmental quality coupled with climate risks are major concerns. Feeding a growing population with increasing dietary preferences for resource-intensive food products is a major challenge. Moreover, with no scope for horizontal expansion of farming to produce needed food; improving agronomic productivity and achieving high and stable yields under changing and uncertain climate are important for feeding the growing population. Increasing climatic variability affects most of the biological, physical and chemical processes that drive productivity of agricultural systems. The productivity and stability of agricultural systems depends upon measurable factors and processes controlled by climate and non-climate drivers of production paradigm. It is therefore vitally important to develop strategies and practices to sustainably increase food production while increasing farm income, protecting natural resources and minimizing environmental footprints.